Forum:2006-08-07. A Lil' Introduction...., by SamMcQ1
SamMcQ1, 8/7/2006 11:41 AM :Hi everyone, name's Sam (well doi! ), 22 years old, reside in East London, England and I've... well... lurked this site for a while now and finally decided to stop being a lazy shit and start posting. I used to watch Hey Arnold! years ago, not long after it started airing here in Britain, and really, to be honest, only watched it sporadically and am a bit hazy as to exactly why (possibly due to inconsistent scheduling, not getting home from school in time etc., I don't know), so although I enjoyed it immensely, for some reason(s) I wasn't a completely unhealthily-obsessed fan like I am now. My first HA! era was pretty casual at best, then. Then, however, came the break-through: one day, about a year and a half after not seeing or really thinking about the show at all, I was casually looking through some fairly old tapes and simply stuck in a tape full of recorded Simpsons eps. and whilst no doubt my mind was drifting off elsewhere thinking of other things, an ep. ended and while I impatiently waited to see what was recorded after that, the fuzzy, blurry screen that inevitably greets you after the thing you recorded has finished eventually gave way and I saw what I vaguely remembered were some characters in what looked like a school canteen in 'that cartoon' Hey Arnold! that I remembered I sometimes watched years ago. I remembered really enjoying it but didn't recall at all recording any episodes of it, but here it was - half way through an episode that I found out later was called, simply, Arnold and Lila. Out of curiousity and just wanting, I think, to find some space on the tape, I continued watching, not that enthusiastically at first really, and then it hit me. After seeing 'that character' I remembered was called Helga fall from a tree in a park from which see was spying on Arnold and this funny-sounding girl, and then following said Football Head as he walked, after being rejected by this girl, deeper into this park, it really and finally grabbed my full attention - the music. The way the silence suddenly and fairly dramatically, in a spilt-second, was 'interrupted' by this deep, sad, moody, brooding, almost drifting-sounding score as 'that character' Helga seemed to drop her pretence (if only for a few seconds) and appeared concerned about this kid who was just rejected hit me like a tonne of bricks. Somehow, almost inexplicably, this kids cartoon had, now, after minutes of me wondering how the hell I even recorded this, got me, hook, line and sinker. Well, some glances at the TV schedule and some nice, spanking new blank tapes sorting out later, I recorded as many episodes as I could and almost overnight became an obsessive bastard about the show and well.... here I am now. Damn, that was more than a lil' introduction, but oh well....Looking forward to posting here. ---- Sent: 8/7/2006 12:49 PM :This message has been deleted by the author. ---- Cool, 8/7/2006 2:32 PM :Welcome. Seems like each fan has their own little story of how they discovered the show, and then how they got hooked on it. And then sometimes sadly, you hear of how they grew out of the show and don't watch it anymore. I've been through the whole cycle, but am now in a final stage of 'its so old now', I've grown to love the show again for reasons of pure nostalgia. So, do they air the show in its entirety (spelling?) over there? Because I have almost ALL the episodes on my computer from fansite Arnold's Eyes, and they are waiting to get the last 5th season episodes from someone, plus "Arnold's Halloween" (which I keep telling Hannah and Flank could be ripped of the Nicktoons Halloween DVD) and the episode "Hall Monitor/Harold's Bar Mitzvah". Plus, the episodes they have of "The Journal", "AFD" and other episodes submitted my KingRTS have crappy picture and really crappy sound, and I'm wondering if you have the technology, could you put episodes into wmv format and put them on the site? Can you record right from the cable soruce? You'd really be helping me out, as then I'd have the series in its entirety and could start all my website projects. Stephen ---- SamMcQ1, 8/7/2006 8:06 PM :Yeah, the Arnold Eyes site's a real life-saver - I couldn't have (almost) completed my Hey Arnold! collection without that mofo (only ep. I haven't got is Phoebe's Little Problem/''Grandpa's Packard''). Sorry to say Steve that I doubt I can make your wish come true because I haven't got the technology to do it, basically (not that I know of, anyway . Forgive the ignorance - not a converter expert I'm afraid). Plus I haven't got cable, I got 'em recorded off regular, terrestrial TV. The only episodes you mentioned I've got on tape and not from Arnold's Eyes are the Hall Monitor/Harold's Bar Mitzvah'' and Arnold's Halloween ones. Again, sorry. Cheers for the welcome, though. As for the age/people 'growing out' of the show thing: Yeah it is sad that happens to some and to an extent I can understand it, what with it being labelled a kid's show afterall, but then again it's also difficult to understand it because although one can (and I certainly have, looong ago) grow out of the standard cutie lil' cartoony noises and sound effects that you always find on the surface of kids TV and was pretty common on HA!, the writing, stories and the characters and other things below the surface are still extremely 'sophisticated', intelligent and adult enough to be enjoyed/appreciated by late/over teens and beyond. As I said earlier, I'm fucking 22 and still, although I've 'developed' in terms of understanding/'intelligence' over the years, 'get something out of the show' intellectually and emotionally. ---- ioxmo, 8/7/2006 9:23 PM :You sound a lot like me, Sam. That's basically how I came into the show. As for Arnold's Halloween, I have it on my comp. I don't have broadband, though... but I got it from someone who does. Send me an email and I'll set you up. ioxmo at lycos dot com. They show Hall monitor on NICKT sometimes, too. I didn't ask...but this person might have it, too. ---- Lord_Malachite, 8/9/2006 4:49 AM :Everyone comes to the show differently, but the important thing is that we all discover it. Me, I discovered it on a lonely Sunday afternoon. September 12, 2004. I was home alone for several days, and no one was around to hang out with. I discovered it on TV, the episode was "Helga's Locket," and immediately fell in love with its over the top storytelling, character style, and great blending of humor and drama. When the episode was followed up in the second half with "Sid And Germs," I was hooked. Unfortunately, there weren't any other episodes on that day. I did some quick research online and discovered that there was a movie, so I went off that Sunday evening to get some Wendy's food and to rent a copy of the HA movie on DVD. Due to some internet activity on my part, I didn't actually start watching the HA movie until about 5AM (I didn't have to start work until 2:30PM back at the time). After that, I just digested all I could, taping everyday and watching every night. Only two days later, I had started my first HA fanfic, "The Sweet Hereafter," which floruished into a popular epic and spawned two smaller sequels. I'm still at work on my mega-epic, "Instant Gratification," (new chapter coming soon kids!) Now, that's a nice story and all, but the reason I told it is because I had just turned 25 at the time I discovered the show. I'm going to turn 27 in less than a month and I'm still with it. I tend to think of myself as the old fart around here, but I'm told that there are people even older than me, so I try not to worry. I hope that you enjoy your stay with our fandom, it's good having you here. Stick around. You ain't seen nothing yet. Lord Malachite "You do, of course, realize that this kind of anger can only lead to sex." --Helga Pataki, "Instant Gratification" ---- unluckystunt, 8/10/2006 3:43 AM :I remember when I got into Hey Arnold very well. I started watching it from the premiere in 1996 (when I was 14) and thought it was really good, but the episode that got me hooked was Operation Ruthless. I remember being absolutely floored by the end of that episode. Helga had suddenly gone from this weird obsessive bully to a truly sympathetic character. And then came episodes like Pigeon Man, Arnold's Christmas, etc... Even when I stopped participating in the fandom, I didn't really have the idea that I had grown out of the show. It can be obvious that HA! is aimed at kids first, but there's a level of heart and character that I can't even find in most "adult" cartoons. I can definitely understand why people older than me would get into it. Knowing that people are still discovering HA! and becoming fans long after the show has run its course is awesome to hear. Welcome to the board Sam. ---- SamMcQ1, 8/10/2006 10:48 AM :Cheers for all the welcomes, 'tis a great-looking site, this. Yep, totally agree that it's great some people are still being drawn to the show and it really does go to show, or at least strongly suggest, that great stories, great characters and overall great 'depth' can have an effect which survives something 'going out of fashion' or even, as is the case with HA!, out of complete fucking production. (BTW, not that it really matters, but I didn't mention the year I 're-discovered' the show - it was the end of 2001; I used the watch the show originally, on and off, in and around '97/8/9/2000).